MEN’S GROOMING PRODUCTS EXPLODE ACROSS SALES CHANNELS… FINALLY

Change in male attitudes fuels category growth

LITTLE FALLS, NJ, October 31, 2003 - From scented shower gels to prestige colognes to exfoliating creams designed specifically for male skin, the men’s grooming market has emerged as a multimillion-dollar business. Savvy marketers are now earning enormous profits off an increasingly image-conscious male population. But after tentatively dipping their toes into the slowly warming pool of men’s grooming products for so long, why have marketers now dived in headfirst? A newly proposed study by Kline & Company, THE U.S. MALE GROOMING MARKET 2003, will explore this question in detail.

“The recent influx of new products shows that marketers are finally taking a chance in this underexploited segment,” says Lenka Contreras, director of Kline’s Consumer Products Practice. “They’ve identified an attitude shift among men towards grooming products, and they’re now willing to devote resources to the category to encourage that shift further.”

Cosmetics and toiletries marketers have always recognized that the men’s grooming product segment has had great potential for growth. In fact, the segment has been one of the fastest growing in the C&T market for many years. According to historical data compiled by Kline, retail sales of men’s skin care products alone have nearly tripled in the last ten years and show no sign of slowing.

Still, marketers have generally been apprehensive about pushing men’s C&T lines, aside from the basic commodity lines in deodorants, shaving products, and hair care products, since male attitudes toward experimenting with different grooming products and brands have traditionally ranged from reluctant to hostile.

More recently, however, men have become increasingly aware and accepting of new kinds of personal care products, and marketers have taken notice. While they may have once considered products like face creams and scented body washes “too girly,” men are now more conscious about their appearance and are more focused on maintaining a stylish image.

“Men are now feeling some of the pressure to look good and meet a physical ideal that women have felt for a long time,” says Contreras. “They’re buying cosmetic products, visiting day spas, and getting their teeth whitened to look more like the actors and models they see in the media.”

These behaviors have been reinforced by lifestyle magazines for men such as GQ, Stuff, and Men’s Health, as well as the latest trend in reality TV--makeover shows--led by the widely viewed “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”

Increased exposure via these media outlets has led men’s grooming products into the mainstream, which has resulted in an explosion of brands across different sales channels. Until recently, specialty brands like Clinique Skin Supplies for Men and Aramis Lab Series were the only major lines to address a variety of men’s grooming needs.

Now, mass-market brands bridging the price gap between commodity and prestige brands have proliferated dramatically. Products under the Neutrogena for Men, Adidas Active, Axe, and Nivea for Men labels are competing with hundreds of others in an expanding market. And commodity brands like Old Spice have had to reinvent themselves with a younger slant to protect market share.

In response, retailers like Bloomingdale’s, Bath & Body Works, and Parfumerie Douglas have made a concerted effort to allocate shelf space to new products and promote them through circulars and store events. This has also brought visibility to the category as marketers and retailers partner to lead the category toward its full potential.

In order to examine the opportunities in this rapidly expanding market segment, THE U.S. MALE GROOMING MARKET 2003 will quantify 2003 manufacturers' sales by retail channel with a five-year forecast, covering key brands and marketers, as well as noteworthy trends and developments. It will also feature a section on male attitudes and usage of grooming products, based on a survey designed to explore purchasing patterns, brand loyalty, and retail channel preferences.

For more information on this study, go to www.klinegroup.com/y576.htm, or contact at (973) 435-3407.

Established in 1959, Kline & Company (www.klinegroup.com) is a business consulting and market research firm serving clients worldwide in the cosmetics and toiletries, household cleaning products, and other consumer products sectors.